Psalms 60:1

Psalm 60 ¹ 

For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; ²  a prayer ³  of David written to instruct others. ⁴  It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram-Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down ⁵  12,000 Edomites ⁶  in the Valley of Salt. ⁷ 

60:1 O God, you have rejected us. ⁸ 

You suddenly turned on us in your anger. ⁹ 

Please restore us! ¹⁰ 

Deuteronomy 4:27

4:27 Then the Lord will scatter you among the peoples and there will be very few of you ¹¹  among the nations where the Lord will drive you.

Deuteronomy 28:64

28:64 The Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of wood and stone.

Deuteronomy 28:2

28:2 All these blessings will come to you in abundance ¹²  if you obey the Lord your God:

Deuteronomy 17:6

17:6 At the testimony of two or three witnesses they must be executed. They cannot be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

Isaiah 11:11-12

11:11 At that time ¹³  the sovereign master ¹⁴  will again lift his hand ¹⁵  to reclaim ¹⁶  the remnant of his people ¹⁷  from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, ¹⁸  Cush, ¹⁹  Elam, Shinar, ²⁰  Hamath, and the seacoasts. ²¹ 

11:12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations;

he will gather Israel’s dispersed people ²² 

and assemble Judah’s scattered people

from the four corners of the earth.

Jeremiah 32:37

32:37 ‘I will certainly regather my people from all the countries where I will have exiled ²³  them in my anger, fury, and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live here in safety.

Ezekiel 34:12

34:12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day. ²⁴ 

Luke 21:24

21:24 They ²⁵  will fall by the edge ²⁶  of the sword and be led away as captives ²⁷  among all nations. Jerusalem ²⁸  will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ²⁹ 

[60:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 60. The psalmist grieves over Israel’s humiliation, but in response to God’s assuring word, he asks for divine help in battle and expresses his confidence in victory.

[60:1]  ² tn The Hebrew expression means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title.

[60:1]  ³ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-59, is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[60:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “to teach.”

[60:1]  ⁵ tn In Josh 8:21 and Judg 20:48 the two verbs “turn back” and “strike down” are also juxtaposed. There they refer to a military counter-attack.

[60:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “12,000 of Edom.” Perhaps one should read אֲרַם (’aram, “Aram”) here rather than אֱדוֹם (’edom, “Edom”).

[60:1]  ⁷ sn The heading apparently refers to the military campaign recorded in 2 Sam 10 and 1 Chr 19.

[60:1]  ⁸ sn You have rejected us. See Pss 43:2; 44:9, 23.

[60:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “you broke out upon us, you were angry.”

[60:1]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.

[4:27]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you will be left men (i.e., few) of number.”

[28:2]  ¹² tn Heb “come upon you and overtake you” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “come upon you and accompany you.”

[11:11]  ¹³ tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[11:11]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[11:11]  ¹⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads, “the sovereign master will again, a second time, his hand.” The auxiliary verb יוֹסִיף (yosif), which literally means “add,” needs a main verb to complete it. Consequently many emend שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) to an infinitive. Some propose the form שַׁנֹּת (shannot, a Piel infinitive construct from שָׁנָה, shanah) and relate it semantically to an Arabic cognate meaning “to be high.” If the Hebrew text is retained a verb must be supplied. “Second time” would allude back to the events of the Exodus (see vv. 15-16).

[11:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or “acquire”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “recover.”

[11:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the remnant of his people who remain.”

[11:11]  ¹⁸ sn Perhaps a reference to Upper (i.e., southern) Egypt (so NIV, NLT; NCV “South Egypt”).

[11:11]  ¹⁹ tn Or “Ethiopia” (NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[11:11]  ²⁰ tn Or “Babylonia” (NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).

[11:11]  ²¹ tn Or perhaps, “the islands of the sea.”

[11:12]  ²² tn Or “the banished of Israel,” i.e., the exiles.

[32:37]  ²³ tn The verb here should be interpreted as a future perfect; though some of the people have already been exiled (in 605 and 597 b.c.), some have not yet been exiled at the time this prophesy is given (see study note on v. 1 for the date). However, contemporary English style does not regularly use the future perfect, choosing instead to use the simple future or the simple perfect as the present translation has done here.

[34:12]  ²⁴ sn The imagery may reflect the overthrow of the Israelites by the Babylonians in 587/6 b.c.

[21:24]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[21:24]  ²⁶ tn Grk “by the mouth of the sword” (an idiom for the edge of a sword).

[21:24]  ²⁷ sn Here is the predicted judgment against the nation until the time of Gentile rule has passed: Its people will be led away as captives.

[21:24]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And Jerusalem.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[21:24]  ²⁹ sn Until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled implies a time when Israel again has a central role in God’s plan.